Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Coming Soon ... "Disability.TV"

I have been toying with the idea of starting a podcast on TV depictions of disability for quite some time, but I think I’ve finally reached the point where a vague idea is ready to turn into reality. If all goes well, I’ll have an introductory episode of “Disability.TV” out on August 1st. I will probably post it initially on SoundCloud.com, but eventually it should be added to iTunes as well, so people can download episodes to their computers and mobile devices.

Each episode will focus on a single TV show and its disabled characters. My main goal throughout will be to answer the question, “What do we want in TV depictions of disability?” In the process, I hope listers will enjoy a tour of past, present, and even future TV shows featuring disabled characters and themes. To get a good head start, here is a tentative list of episode topics:

Ironside - Original Series - Chief Robert Ironside

Ironside - New Series - Detective Robert Ironside

The Michael J. Fox Show / Growing Up Fisher - Mike Henry / Mel Fisher

Friday Night Lights - Jason Street

Game Of Thrones - Tyrion Lannister

Game Of Thrones - Jaimie Lannister, Bran Stark, and Hodor

Glee - Artie Abrams, Becky Jackson

Big Bang Theory - Sheldon Cooper

Parenthood - Max Braverman

Red Band Society - (New Fall Show)

Breaking Bad - Walter Jr. “Flynn” White

Star Trek - The Menagerie 1 & 2 - Captain Christopher Pike

Star Trek: The Next Heneration - Ethics - Lt. Worf

Star Trek: Deep Space 9 - Melora - Ensign Melora Pazlar

American Horror Story - “Freak Show”

ER - Dr. Kerry Weaver

ER - Mental Illness

Downton Abbey - Mr. Bates, Thomas Barrow, Matthew Crawley

The West Wing - President Josiah Bartlett

The West Wing - Joey Lucas

Life Goes On - Corky Sherwood

I think I have everything I need to get started … except for one thing. I need ideas, insights, and most of all, some co-hosts! If you are tuned in to disability issues and popular culture, have a look at this list, and if you see something that interests you, let me know. Hopefully, we can work out the technical side of long-distance podcasting and make these episodes real discussions rather than monologues. Two viewpoints are almost always better than one!